Everyone remembers where they were when they heard the news on 9/11. I was at work at Home-Link, a new Raveis Real Estate venture (now defunct) based in Shelton. We all were in disbelief. We scrambled for Internet reports, but they left us wanting. Then we found the TV sets in the health club. So we all gathered around these small sets above the exercise equipment to catch any image we could. It just didn’t seem real.
For me it was a bit more personal. For two years early in my career, I worked in the South Tower in the 16th-floor offices of the Trace Center. I was a project manager for Arthur Andersen & Co., and our group was assigned to oversee the design and installation of a large Management and Financial Information System for the MTA. Lots of memories of those friends and co-workers came to mind. I couldn’t help thinking back to those days – and tried to imagine if we would have been able to get out. I was thankful we were long gone before this tragedy took place, that my friends, my memories were all safe.
Yet each year, on September 11th, we remember those who perished that day. I have a daily reminder. My brother Bill is a Lt. Colonel in the Army Reserves. He has served in Iraq and now Afghanistan. He comes back to Fairfield for a brief stay this week before heading back to Kabul for another 18 months. I haven’t seen him since January. Mom and Dad cherish each email they receive from him while he is on duty. The emails let us know he is alive and well. They also serve to remind us that the fight started 10 years ago and is still ongoing. Every day men and women are putting their lives on the line to protect our country and our families.
The new 9/11 Memorial in front of the Fairfield Fire House will serve to remind us all. It will help us individually and as a community to never forget this tragedy of 10 years ago. We need to remember. We need to stay strong. We need to be grateful to those who protect us both here and abroad.
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